homes and other buildings. take a look at that amazing video there. there's also damage to a school which was to be used as an emergency shelter. the weather has prompted airlines to cancel 5,000 flights this week. let's take a live look at sfo right now. you can see that a lot of people are out there a lot of cars. cancellations today at airports are affected by the storm mainly indianapolis and cincinnati, ohio at this point. all the nation's airports are expected to be busy today as people start heading home after the christmas gathering. it is wise though contact your airline in advance to check on your flight status. back in the bay area, the threat of more flooding is causing concern along a creek on the peninsula. san fransesquito creek in east palo alto is residing this morning after hitting near record high levels during the weekend rains. now they have a new stack of sandbags on top of the levee that protects the gardens

neighborhood. the california conservation corps joined city crews inputting bags in place to prevent flooding. some homes were evacuated after water seeped through the levee. >> we have to leave everything behind. >> we had a bad christmas so he is ready to let it go. move on. >> there's still one home that's vacant because water got into some electrical outlets. east palo alto is work on a long-term fix that will include the croak's capacity to carry water. and we're seeing much more snow in the sierra and how. the california department of water resources reports that snow levels now are at 140% of average. last year they were like just 30 percent of average. while not everybody at this time felt like fighting traffic and chain controls to get up there plenty of bay area residents wanted to see a white christmas. and they did. some families decided to head out after opening presents and to play in the first snow they

found. so let's get an update. isn't it fun to play in the snow? >> uhm, yeah... [ laughter ] >> for the kids. >> elizabeth is marginal on that. >> i liked to sled back in the day. they are getting up to two feet of snow in the last 24 hours or so. we got winter storm warnings in effect, pack your chains if you are still heading up to tahoe. bay area getting hit with rain, more showers if you can believe it. scattered showers are going to continue throughout the day today. so you'll need an umbrella through the afternoon. we have some heavier cells moving in right now. looks like over san francisco if you are traveling interstate 80 or 880 in oakland, you see where all that yellow is, that's moderate showers moving in as we speak. so here's a live look outside. you can see it's wet and breezy at times as well and temperatures are definitely on the cool side in the 40s for the most part a couple of low 50s as well so we're talking traffic on this, what is this, wednesday morning and here's a live look at some of our sensors right now. we have a high wind advisory

for the carquinez bridge. chp just issued that so a heads up and the roads are obviously going to be slick this morning. flooding a concern still in sonoma county in fact since last night, highway 121 has been shut downright there by highway 12. similar story on sunday after sunday's storms. they had flooding in the same area and one more live look outside milpitas, 880/237 moving at the limit. that's traffic and weather. back to you. >> thank you. there's more urgency in washington to get a deal done before the so-called "fiscal cliff" deadline less than a week from now. senate majority leader harry reid was reportedly at the capital on christmas working on a scaled-down plan to avoid tax hikes for all about the wealthiest americans. his plan would include short term spending cuts instead of long-term deals that had been sought. from hawaii. comes word that president obama will cut short vacation and return to washington later today to take part in "fiscal cliff" negotiations. christmas day the president and

first lady met with servicemembers and their families. the president told the marines he was grateful for their service and posed pour pictures. recent college graduates are having a tough time getting jobs in their desired lines of work. according to the latest u.s. census figures about 2 60,000 young adults with college degrees in california are working in food service and retail. >> couldn't get a job in the field that i wanted to so i figured i have to start at the bottom. >> without higher paying jobs, it's that much harder for graduates to pay back student loans weapon tuition rising across the nation. the holiday season isn't what it used to be for american oh. a new poll suggests a lot of people are working between christmas and new year's. the survey conducted in the midwest shows about a third of workers will be on the job in the last week of 2012. one of the positive signs for the american economy has

been the housing market. in november, construction on new homes was up 22% from a year ago and in california, you may be surprised at who is buying. cbs news reporter ben tracy has more. >> this is the busy time of year. >> absolutely. this is when all the games come in. >> reporter: scott meadows runs salinas vineyards in california's napa valley and there's a good reason he put that american bald eagle on the bottle. seems kind of nationalistic. >> that was a specific from our chinese owners. china overall is looking to bring parts of america to china. >> reporter: in 2010, this vineyard was up for sale. chinese investors bought it and now 90% of the wine from here that's 9,000 cases -- is shipped to china. what does a chinese company want with a vineyard in napa valley? >> there's a big demand in china for luxury goods for goods that are scarce and for goods that are well made. so rather than buying chinese- made products and spending our

money over there, they're buying american made products and sending their money back over here. >> reporter: on the jobs stay here? >> and the jobs stay here. >> reporter: rich chinese firms have investigated billions in the u.s. 1.3billion in california companies. a reported $560 million invested in the past year. the chinese are also boosting the golden state's housing recovery. they have bought one out of every 10 homes sold in the past year. >> compared to the high-end housing like in beijing, this is not that expensive. >> reporter: this university of southern california student has a $1 million condo at the ritz- carlton. his parents thought renting a dorm room was a waste of money. >> my parents decided to buy me a house as a investment outside china. >> reporter: jim jacobson has sold 22% of the residences at the ritz to affluent chinese. >> basically they don't have a

place to put their money. they look at their own economy where as place where it's unstable. the housing market is unstable there. >> reporter: this housing complex in irvine california is being built for chinese buyers. no unlucky 4s in the building and multientrances for different generations. back in china they say it's not a threat to america. >> american is known for quality so china looks at foreign made products in general as things they can truck. >> reporter: after all that eagle is on the bottle because what so many chinese want is something made in the u.s. ben tracy, cbs news, napa valley. the big question for kids this week, what did you get from santa? >> we went door door in pacifica to find out. kids ranged from air hockey to perfume. it was clear a lot of young

people were thrilled to receive their presents. >> i got a red sled and skim board and skateboard i got some santa claus outfit, that's the hat. >> and what would christmas be like without a few miscues? one parent fell down a couple of stairs with a surfboard, and it looked like it was bitten by a shark. hard core shoppers with nowhere to go yesterday can get back to the stores early this morning. time for the after-christmas sales to start. i know you're excited about that brian. >> i just wish i could be there with cate. >> reporter: cate caugiran is in san leandro right now where at least one store is already open. >> reporter: there are a few shoppers who are inside there as well trying to cash in on some deals and to return those presents because as we said it's the day after christmas known as the day you return gifts where the gifts come from

the tree back to the shops. retailers know this very well. stores across the bay area will be opening early and staying open later to accommodate the return gifters. in addition to that, stores will give shoppers an extra incentive to stick around. today is another big day of discounts. experts are predict post- christmas sales will look similar to black friday. according to shopper track, last year shoppers spent $7.1 billion the day after christmas. so if you are looking to get a head start, here are some other malls to stop by. hillsdale, serramonte, streets of brentwood, bay street shopping center. according to a 2011 consumer reports poll, about one in seven shoppers will return gifts the day after christmas. cate caugiran, cbs 5. we want to know what did you get for christmas that you wish you didn't? ith it. email us at mornings-at-cbs 5-dot-com. you can also post your answers on facebor twitter. time is 5: u-s-f takes on

east tennessee in the diamo head classic. >> my husband takes back gifts every year. >> what was the gift he is taking back this year yet? >> i don't know yet. i think a belt hanger. >> i don't know why i got him that. >> that was romantic. >> 11 minutes after 5:00. >> usf takes on east tennessee in the diamond head classic. >> and the first dog steals the spotlight from his mother. stranded for days in a barn, how a horse got stock. -- how a horse got stuck. >> and what is cool about your school? you can submit your nomination on our website, cbssf.com/coolschool. we may come and feature school right here on our show. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

an el dorado county hay lof meet crikey. somehow, the one-thousand pound horse a christmas eve rescue for a hungry horse who got trapped inside a hay loft. meet prikey. somehow he unhooked a latch and climbed up the stairs for a bite of hay and refused to come down. he was stuck out there for

three days. they had to tranquilize him to get hit out. firefighters and a roofing company, tranquilized there and then they had sort of an elevator lift pull him out. >> i have seen horses in distressed situations before that have just absolutely gone crazy and made things very dangerous and very difficult. and he was just a prince. >> the roofing company, see they raised the bed of the scissor truck up to the loft and they tranquilized him and lowered him down. he is doing fine. his owners say he is still nibbling on everything in sight. >> he didn't want to come down. so they went through all of that trouble just to get him down. but if he wanted to come down he could have just come down the stairs. >> the pony is in the hay loft? [ laughter ]

>> we'll show you some heavier cells moving in to seat heaviest rain. it's moving out of san francisco southeast and looks like the 101, daly city, oakland, san leandro, the unstable wet weather air mass won't leave. cool breezy this afternoon and a short break tomorrow. once again it's going to be brief and then more rain returning for the end of the week. staying cool showers, bring the umbrella. once again all day long the cold front is moving farther in land but we still have unstable air behind it. we'll see pockets of sunshine and pockets of heavier rain continuing through the afternoon. and then finally by the evening, that's when things finally start to clear out. wednesday we start to see more partly cloudy skies. should remain that way overnight.

we have a winter storm warning in effect in the sierra. up to 2 feet of snow and gusty winds. chains required on all highways in the area. low to mid-50s this afternoon. 54 concord. 55 oakland. seven-day forecast, here's a look at the dry break and then showers continue friday into saturday. sunday through new year's day looks dry. let's talk traffic right now. we'll take you outside live towards 101. we sent our photographer near the great america parkway. things are flowing nicely both directions. bay bridge no delay. we are not expecting to see the volume of traffic we usually do and so far no metering lights. elsewhere to our maps now. we do have that high wind advisory still in effect. chp issued this just for the carquinez bridge. it's our only one in effect so far. flooding still a concern in sonoma county. 121 shut down by highway 12 and, of course, grab your chains if you are heading

towards the sierra. interstate 80, 50 and 88 all require chains. that's traffic and weather. back to you. the first dog and what he considers the best seat in the house and he is a little competitive. >> this is what he does at home trying to beat my daughters to my lap. >> she was getting ready to read t'was the night before christmas to young patients. bo tagged along and he haded up stealing the spotlight when he jumped on the first lady's lap and hung out. >> there you go. >> and today a young bay area couple is thanking anonymous donors for saving their dog. cbs 5 reporter christin ayers on hour complete strangers saved a husky and the family's christmas. >> come on. >> reporter: it was two weeks to christmas when nick and lindsey anderson realized that

their 7-month-old siberian husky shasta had escaped from their backyard but it was what they discovered when shasta came home hours later that was devastating. >> she started barking if he back door and that's when we knew that she was hurt. she couldn't walk. she was dragging her paw. just crying. >> reporter: shasta, doctors told him, had been hit by a car. her pelvis was broken in three places. and surgery was going to cost $5,000. >> didn't have that. >> reporter: they went on craigslist to help find money to take care of shasta. instead they found a woman named mary. >> mary is an angel. >> her guardian angel. >> reporter: who worked with lindsey to set up this fundraising site on giveforward.com of the mary, whom the andersons have never met, even spread the word on facebook urging total strangers to give money for shasta's surgery. >> one day it was at 720.

the next morning it was at i think almost doubled. >> shocked, grateful. many of them are strangers. some gave $500. >> reporter: within four days they raised $3,300 enough for doctors to go ahead with the surgery days before surgery. the andersons are still trying to raise the last $1,300 on giveforward.com. >> we're grateful there are people willing to give to a puppy. >> reporter: and that, they say, is priceless. in antioch, christin ayers, cbs 5. >> he's up and walk, looks good. >> great. isn't it? >> yeah. expensive. 20 minutes after 5:00. game on. the dunk that tied the game in the diamond head classic . >> and another awesome shot by the clippers against the nuggets in today's play of the day. >> and we have a winter storm warning still in effect for the

sierra. so you may want to hold off on those travel plans. tomorrow a dry break. heavenly a foot of new snow. northstar 18 lifts. squaw 18" of new snow and more snow this weekend. we'll have traffic and weather coming up. ,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, honey, don't use your sleeve.

vo: for cold and flu season, there's clorox bleach.

welcome back. we have pockets of heavy showers moving out of san francisco towards san leandro and hayward and slick roads. to avoid the roads, mass transit is on time and normal schedules. you will see that rain in san leandro live that the doppler was showing in just a moment. but first, one local college basketball team is spending the holiday season in hawaii. the university of san francisco took on east tennessee state on christmas day if the diamond head classic. an impressive firsthand dunk tied the game in the first half. san francisco went on to et boat buccaneers 67-49. our play of the day in the staples center in los angeles and the clippers at home against the denver nuggets. >> billy crystal was talking about his new movie when a fast

break broke out. >> five years later we got to make it. >> when you make parental guidance 2 -- >> oh!! >> oh, yeah. this is the one i missed. >> that's a conversation stopper. blake griffin finishes the break and the clippers won their 14th game in a row to lead the western conference. it's the day after christmas so how about the gift of another play of the day? >> miami's lebron james under the basket for the 4th quarter dunk. it was a rematch of last season's finals. oklahoma city and miami. miami won 103-97. >> kind of an anemic play of the day. 5:25. coming up in the next half hour, holiday shoppers head back to the stores. >> another big day for savvy shoppers. we'll fell you how early some of the stores in the bay area will be opening for these deals. >> and christmas comes with severe weather in the south.

the damage left behind after more than two dozen tornadoes were spotted. that's coming up next. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald christmas day twisters tear southern towns apart and leave a deadly path of destruction. >> no break from the wet weather today. we'll still have some heavier pockets and heavier cells moving across the bay area. when will it end? we'll let you know coming up. in the meantime, flooding a concern in sonoma county stretch of 121 shut down by highway 12. >> and it's the day of after christmas which means a big day for retailers and shoppers. we'll tell you how early some bay area stores are opening

this morning. good morning. it's wednesday, december 26. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank is off today. it's now 29 minutes after 5:00. >> dangerous and deadly storms moved across southern states on christmas day. >> severe weather is blamed for at least two deaths and knocked out power to more than 100,000 people this several states. there were more than 30 reports of tornadoes from texas to alabama, homes businesses and churches damaged. ashley rodriguez takes to us one neighborhood where residence say this christmas they are just happy to be alive. >> reporter: this is one of the 12 homes that law enforcement here in pearl river county says were completely wiped out by this tornado on christmas day. at this particular home here in the mcneil area, this is what's left of the slab, this is what's left of the wall, and this is what's left of this family's life. and the damage trail extends half a mile on this property off highway 11, the front and

back of this custom antebellum home gone but the homeowner says lives are more important. tell me how you feel when you look at your house. >> kind of bad but everybody's safe. and hey, the lord is on our side. we good to go. >> reporter: y'all were all home? >> yes. my wife and my daughter-in-law and two of the grandkids were there and my son and i were 100 yards on the other side over here. >> reporter: did you see it? >> yeah. we seen it happening kind of so... >> reporter: what do you do when you see a tornado coming towards your house? >> nothing. you just hope. hid our heads and hope for the best. but nope, everybody's good. >> reporter: for those who were inside the house, what did they experience? >> they said it was a lot of noise and -- i have a basement in the bottom is where we go when there's problems but couldn't open the doors. the wind had jammed them so they hunkered down in the laundry room. no damage in that end of the house. >> reporter: grateful everybody is safe. >> wonderful. >> reporter: eight people were

taken to the hospital overall. and assessments are expected to continue through the night. other parts of the country got a white christmas but it was still wild weather. ice and snow-covered the roads in oklahoma leading to a crash involving nearly two dozen cars. blizzard conditions are possible for parts of illinois, indiana, and kentucky today. could be up to a foot of snow in many parts of new england by tomorrow. back here in california, there was snow in the sierra for christmas and that meant chains for drivers without four- wheel drive and big delays. some folks had to wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic on i- 80 up to three hours yesterday. the bay area saw some intense rainfall for christmas. at times the rain came down at a rate of more than two-tenths of an inch an hour and this is a change from last christmas. san francisco will have seen more than 5" of rain this month by the time we celebrate new

year's. last december it rained less than half an inch at sfo. so a big difference there. the heavy rain has had people in one east palo alto neighborhood keeping a close eye on the creek. high water reached some homes on sunday and there was worry a levee could break. yesterday was a little different for some families. >> kids didn't wake up in the morning thinking they would have to clean out the front yards and clean up the cars. they wanted to go outside and play. >> the city is, working with engineers to shore up the levee and increase the capacity of the creek. it could begin as early as next year. i guess there's some good news for them because after a dicey weekend the potential for that coming up, they had massive floods there in 1998, february of that year. >> we shod some video from that a -- showed some video from that a couple of days ago. >> we'll dodge that bullet. >> we're drying out by

tomorrow. but today, you're still going to need an umbrella. unstable air continues and then drying out. then a heavier cell behind it. san francisco we have a heavier cell moving there over parts of 101. so this is what it looks like out there wet and breezy conditions as well. it's going to be chilly. bundle up. if you have any holiday returns to do, some 50s and 50s. san francisco at 50 degrees. 48 in oakland. so once again your highs only bumping up to the low to mid- 50s across the bay area. so let's talk traffic and show what you it looks like on the roads if you have to head to work today. across the san mateo bridge, light traffic at least but conditions are slick in both directions. 14 minutes out of hayward and to foster city. highway wind advisory. chp just issued that this

morning. flooding a concern in sonoma countiful 121 shut down. both directions in highway 12. same spot with flooding on sunday's storm. mass transit back to a regular weekday schedule. so far no issues to bart, ace, muni caltrain or ferries. golden gate bridge flowing nicely towards san francisco. no delay across the span. the milpitas commute is good as well 880 and 237. east bay 880 looks good headlights moving southbound toward oakland airport. that's a check of traffic and weather. back to you guys. >> thank you. no major delays so far at the san francisco airport. this is a live look right now. let's take it. today around 108,000 people are expected to pass through sfo. you can see a lot of passengers being dropped off right now. 54,000 travelers coming in and roughly the same number leaving. and we're told that's not an unusual high total. the next heavy travel day is projected to be on new year's

eve. checking your world, an attack on a u.s. military base in afghanistan. the taliban claims responsibility. a suicide bomber blew up at the gate to camp chapman. an afghan guard and two civilians were killed at the gate along with the bomber. it's unlikely we felt it but santa clara county had a christmas day earthquake magnitude 2.4 centered 7 miles northeast of milpitas. it happened at 12:29 in the afternoon in the hayward- calaveras fault transition zone. an underground explosion sent a manhole cover flying in san francisco last night. officials with pg&e say the blast was caused by an equipment fire around 5:00 near the corner of 3rd and mission. no one was injured. but several streets were shut down during the investigation. your christmas break from shopping is over. people will return to the malls

today. cbs 5 reporter cate caugiran is in rainy san leandro one store opened early already. old navy opened up and shoppers were there waiting to go inside to return gifts. the day after christmas typically is known as the big christmas gift return day not to mention another day of big deals according to shopper track last year shoppers spending $7.1 billion the day after christmas. that's a 25.5% increase from the year before. experts are predicting the day after-christmas sales will look similar to black friday complete with early hours and door buster sales and according to a 2011 consumer reports poll, nearly one in seven adults returned a christmas gift. the bay fair mall opening early. these malls will be open early.

some will stay open later to accommodate for shoppers including hillsdale, serramontety, the streets of brentwood and bay street shopping center. live from san leandro, cate caugiran, cbs 5. >> a family in southern california has cashed in a valuable lottery scratcher ticket. this is a picture of the winning ticket right now. francisco rios bought two tickets on sunday for $10 each at a liquor store in van nuys and one turned out to be worth a million dollars. the odds of winning that prize are one in 1.2 million. and he got it. >> yeah. good for him. 38 minutes now before 6:00. can congress keep the u.s. from falling over the "fiscal cliff"? the president cuts his christmas vacation short to get back to business. >> what a difference a letter makes. how this woman's skipped syllable cost her thousands. >> we want to know what did you

get for the holidays that you wish you hadn't? comment on facebook or twitter, or email us at mornings@cbs5.com business in china. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

the first trip was this mor, as passengers bo the world's longest high- speed rail line is open for business in china. the first trip was this morning

as passengers boarded a train in beijing. the line 1400 miles long. the trip takes 8 hours compared with more than 20 hours previously. recent college graduates are struggling to get jobs in their feels of interest. according to the latest u.s. census figures, about 260,000 young adults with college degrees in california are working in the row tail and food service industries. >> couldn't get a job in the field that i wanted to so i figure i have to start here to get where i want to be. >> without higher paying jobs it's that much harder for college graduates to pay student loans, especially with tuition risings across the nation. we're less than a week away from the so-called "fiscal cliff." the pressure is increasing in washington. senate majority leader harry reid was reportedly at the capital on christmas working on a scaled-down plan as to avoid tax hikes. president obama is coming back from hawaii today because of

the issue. after a day off, investors are headed back to wall street. within an hour we are expecting new numbers on the housing market in u.s. cities. erica ferrari from moneywatch.com is on the job in new york. >> reporter: good morning. asian markets were up this morning as investors snapped up year end stocks. tokyo's nikkei added 1.5% as japan swore in a new prime minister. the shanghai composite was up .25%. investors will return to wall street with concerns over the "fiscal cliff." on monday, before closing for christmas the dow lost 52 points while the nasdaq dropped 8. the white house says the president is cutting its vacation in hawaii short to deal with "fiscal cliff" negotiations. his focus, figure out a plan to avoid the huge spike in taxes and spending cuts set to take effect in 6 days. senate majority leader harry reid is believed to be crafting his own fiscal package including extending the bush-

era tax cuts for households making less than $250,000. now, regardless of what happens with the "fiscal cliff," new taxes to help pay for the affordable healthcare act will take effect january 1. but the average american will not really see a difference in his bill to the irs. the wealthiest 2% of americans and the healthcare industry will pick up the majority of the tab. back to you. >> thank you. now, ladies and gentlemen, time for the big story of the day. that is as per usual the weather and now the hardest working woman in showbiz. >> i have been working a lot lately. i know. yeah. the holidays, busy time. and if you are out and about traveling you know the rain has been a big issu the last few days. we'll get some brief dry breaks but we have heavier cells moving through. look over san francisco. everywhere you see that orange and yellow that's the heavier rain moving through actually through hayward right now if

you are traveling the nimitz anytime in the near future. dublin-pleasanton socked in with rain. so the main cold front has already moved through. this is just unstable air behind it. cool and breezy throughout the afternoon finally drying out by overnight tonight and then we have a brief dry break by tomorrow. once again it's not going to last long. wet weather then continues the last half of the week. so staying cool, showers, that's our low pressure system, once again carry the umbrella the main ide for today. no delays at sfo. once again with the unstable air, rain and wind, it's a possibility. high in the mid-50s. and checking conditions across the country snow in denver, chicago, rain and windy as well in new york. high of only 39 degrees there. so yeah, definitely cool winter like conditions across the country. winter storm warning traveling up to the sierra, tomorrow might be a better day when we

dry out. got up to 2 feet of snow. great skiing conditions in tahoe. expecting gusty winds this afternoon. today highs at home only in the low to mid-50s so we are not budging much. 55 in mountain view, 54 fremont, 53 in the north bay if you are in san rafael. here's a look at the forecast over the next several days. wet weather today, dry break tomorrow, and then once again more wet weather friday night into saturday morning before we finally clear out a nice dry pattern sunday through new year's day. let's talk traffic and we'll go out towards the bay bridge toll plaza. we're not expecting to see to see any metering lights anytime soon. no delay in the cash or fast traffic lanes. everything looks good across the upper deck. live look at the nimitz 880 in oakland the south bay still moving at the limit. and once again, grab your chains if you are heading out towards the sierra. we have chain requirements on interstate 80, highway 50 and highway 88. that's a check of traffic. back to you guys. >> thank you. well, she was on a roll

toward thousands of game show wheel of fortune until -- wait until you hear it -- a slip of the tongue cost her everything. >> renee was on the show last week and had the answer to the word puzzle. it was seven swans aswimming. when she gave her answer she misted pronounced the last word leaving the g off swimming so she said swimin. the judges ruled it a wrong answer and her opponent got the win but she says she is not upset. >> they have to protect against regional dialects so i have been have been more straight line in my enunciation the phrase. i still watch the show every night. i still love it and support it. it's been great. but i don't harbor any grudges. >> a little heartbreaking though. former wheel contestants say before show tapings they are told that answers must be read exactly as they appear to be considered correct. even if renee says she is okay about what happens, there is an

online push to get her on the show and have another chance. >> it's obviously swimming. the g was already revealed. >> but they have strict rules. so if you don't say it right, then... >> wheel of fortune isn't the library of congress. i mean, it's -- you know, i -- honestly. pat sajak must have pulled hear side and said we'll make it up to you. poor thing. 12 minutes before 6:00. coming up a surprise from fido. what the first dog did that gave the crowds a laugh. >> plus he made history in the movie biz and has only made one film. meet the man behind itier's blockbuster hit, rise of the guardians. that's coming up next. ,,,,,, well, well, well.

growing up, we didn't have u-verse. we couldn't record four shows at the same time. in my day, you were lucky if you could record two shows. and if mom was recording her dumb show and dad was recording his dumb show then, by george, that's all we watched. and we liked it! today's kids got it so good. [ male announcer ] get u-verse tv with a total home dvr included free for life. only $29 a month for six months.

live to our hi-def doppler our cbs 5 exclusive you can see a heavy to moderate cell moving past sfo towards millbrae, san mateo some good pockets of rain. this rain here means snow in the sierra. check out these live pictures from tahoe. chains are required interstate 80, highways 50 and 88. we'll have much more traffic and weather coming up every 10 minutes. getting $145 million to make a movie is rare. getting it for your first film is nearly impossible. but peter ramsey is no stranger to defying the odds. the man behind the movie that michelle loves the blockbuster rise of the guardians explains how big dreams and loving parents propelled him from the inner city to become the first black director of a major

animated movie. michelle turner has that story. >> reporter: you made your mark. >> yeah. you kind of have to pinch yourself and look around and remember, i'm working on those caching. >> santa claus... the easter bunny? the tooth fairy, surprise! >> these aren't your daddy's childhood heroes. >> no. >> reporter: i heard you described santa as a hell's angel with a heart of gold. >> he is not just this jolly guy. he lives in the north pole the toughest place in the world. this guy's an adventurer. all these guardians represent very specific things, hope, dreams, memories, fun. >> reporter: the peter ramsey story. >> everybody's story. >> reporter: do you remember your first time going to the movie? >> it must have been around 4 years old. >> hi ho -- >> disney' snow white. i fell asleep before it was over but it was magical. >> reporter: that's what stuck with you? >> that really stuck with me

just have these giant images from the screen and the emotions hit you and i think that feeling, the emotion of it is what really set me on the path. >> reporter: i know a lot of times it's hard to dream bigger than what you see every day. >> i had a head full of dreams. it was like how do you go the step of making those dreams into reality? even though i grew up five, six miles away from hollywood i had no idea that real people made movies. there were no uncles who were actors or directors or producers. >> just the ramsey from south- central. >> yeah. >> i think we both conveyed to him that you can do better than just people in the area that we were living. >> always an inquisitive kid didn't ask questions that i did not always know the answer but we had books in the house.

>> that's great. >> i get the impression that the gravity of what you have achieved being the first black film maker to direct a big budget animated film didn't really set in at first. >> hm. no. i don't think it did. it wasn't until there had been an article written about me in the newspaper and i looked up and i saw tears in my dad's eyes and it all came back to me. it matters. >> reporter: more than the work. >> yeah. i have been talking to a lot of kids at schools. you can see it. they will never have that thingful saying it nobody like me could do that. nobody like me could do that. that's the most rewarding. >> now they say somebody like me did that. >> exactly. >> now, that's a great story. >> it is a wonderful story. he is amazing, too. the movie is just

great. coming up, days away from going over the so-called "fiscal cliff." what the president is doing to try to reach an 11th hour deal. it's the day after christmas which means a milestone for retailers and gift returners. we'll tell you how early some stores in the bay area open when we return on cbs 5. ,,,,

dozens of tornadoes spottedn the south.. today, residents are getting their >> your realtime captioner: linda marie macdonald. we came out and we saw this, what did you think? >> thank god i'm alive. >> dozens of tornadoes spotted in the south. today residents getting a first look at the damage. >> and we're going to have on- and-off rain showers throughout the morning into the afternoon. when will the wet weather end? we'll let you know coming up. in the meantime, it's also causing some slick conditions even flooding out in sonoma county. traffic and weather together

every 10 minutes. good morning, everyone. it's wednesday, december 26. i'm michelle griego. >> i'm brian hackney. frank is off today. thanks for coming to cbs 5. much of the northeast can expect rough weather today from a massive storm system that caused christmas day havoc in the midwest and the southeast. cbs reporter edward lawrence has more on this wild weather. >> it's two funnels on the ground. >> reporter: a christmas day tornado tore through mobile, alabama. >> there it is! >> reporter: joe michael love pulled out his cell phone to record the twister while miles away it destroyed a church, some homes and his son's high school. >> that band room is almost destroyed. the fieldhouse is gone. all the portable buildings and classrooms are gone. >> reporter: near houston a tornado destroyed buildings and tore down power lines. this woman and her husband couldn't get away in time. >> we don't leave because the truck was off the ground. it wouldn't go. finally it touched the ground and we took off. >> reporter: damage from a tornado in pearl river, mississippi, stretched a mile

wide and 8 people were taken to the hospital. ted williams' family was home celebrating christmas when it hit. >> went into the laundry room and sat down. >> reporter: further north a massive snowstorm is the problem. snow and ice covered the roads in oklahoma. >> got my chains on. i'm probably the only one with chains on driving around going 5 miles an hour. >> reporter: the storm is pick up steam as it heads through arkansas into the midwest. within those warning areas blizzard conditions are expected over the next 24 hours or so. tomorrow there could be up to a foot of snow in many parts of new england. edward lawrence for cbs news, washington. a messy commute in the sierra, whether people wanted to ski or visit family, they all got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic yesterday up to 4 hours. anyone without four-wheel drive had to put on chains. >> knew we were going to have to do this so -- and we may have to do it two or three